Peppy look at the rise of plant-based diets skates around the planet from Los Angeles to South Africa but doesn’t really pause to sift through the stats
This bright and proselytising documentary about veganism will no doubt win some new converts to the cause, with lots of sun-dappled footage of rescued farm animals restored to Edenic freedom. But it doesn’t delve seriously enough into still-debated issues to sway interested fence-sitters, let alone diehard carnivores that must be converted if animal agriculture’s carbon footprint is to be reduced to sustainable levels; this latter is surely the most universally compelling argument in the vegan arsenal.
Co-directors Dan Richardson and Giles Alderson, also appearing front of camera, initially present the film as a fanfare for veganism’s recent growth and new acceptability. But with the film skating superficially through various locations – a vegan fair in Croatia, a sanctuary farm in South Africa, vegan mecca Los Angeles, a Super Size Me-style 30-day challenge in the UK – there’s no real history of how this turnaround happened. So while the broad-brush ideas about meat-eating’s environmental and health impacts are bandied about, there’s no real examination of why underlying attitudes shifted, and how further inroads can be made.
Continue reading… Peppy look at the rise of plant-based diets skates around the planet from Los Angeles to South Africa but doesn’t really pause to sift through the statsThis bright and proselytising documentary about veganism will no doubt win some new converts to the cause, with lots of sun-dappled footage of rescued farm animals restored to Edenic freedom. But it doesn’t delve seriously enough into still-debated issues to sway interested fence-sitters, let alone diehard carnivores that must be converted if animal agriculture’s carbon footprint is to be reduced to sustainable levels; this latter is surely the most universally compelling argument in the vegan arsenal.Co-directors Dan Richardson and Giles Alderson, also appearing front of camera, initially present the film as a fanfare for veganism’s recent growth and new acceptability. But with the film skating superficially through various locations – a vegan fair in Croatia, a sanctuary farm in South Africa, vegan mecca Los Angeles, a Super Size Me-style 30-day challenge in the UK – there’s no real history of how this turnaround happened. So while the broad-brush ideas about meat-eating’s environmental and health impacts are bandied about, there’s no real examination of why underlying attitudes shifted, and how further inroads can be made. Continue reading… Film, Documentary films, Veganism, Food, Culture, Environment, Life and style
